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| Sunday, 23 November 2003 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Compiled by Carol Aloysius Suicide and Media by Dr. Ranil Abeysinghe, Consultant Psychiatrist, University of Peradeniya In a free country death is legitimate news. Be it by accident, homicide or suicide it arouses the same level of curiosity and such news sells well. However, even legitimate news can kill and maim people. This is what happened in Vienna some years ago.
During the series the male teenage suicide rate increased by 175 per cent. In the UK media reported a new method of suicide by drinking antifreeze. The method was described down to the detail of mixing it with lemonade and drunk in a field. nine youths attempted suicide in this manner after this news, compared with two in the past. Closer to home in the 1960s a youth committed suicide by drinking Polydol after his relationship broke down. That was big news in the media and the use of pesticide increased from less than five per cent to 70 per cent of all suicides in Sri Lanka. Today suicide is the commonest cause of death among youth in Sri Lanka. Media responsibility and guidelines It is in the light of these findings that free media, the world over, learned to restrain themselves about reporting suicide. Media guidelines were developed through collaboration between the professionals and media. None of these guidelines however, is meant to muzzle media. Media are a major influence in our lives today. Such a major influence could work towards reducing the suicide rate just as well increasing it. Take the example of Viennese underground suicides. In 1984, the local media voluntarily limited the coverage given to these deaths. The number of suicides at the underground bridge dropped to normal. It is well known that suicide of a pop star would increase the suicide rate of youth. Recently this did not happen after the suicide of a European pop star. It is believed that the responsible reporting that differentiated the brilliance of his career from that of the waste of a life due to suicide made this difference of the media can both promote suicide in the following ways: .On Simplifying suicide: Suicide is never due to a single factor. People with normal mental states do not commit suicide when they break up with a girl friend or when the mother shouts at them. Reasons are more complex than that. There is often depression, alcoholism and continuing conflicts in the family. Much of this remains buried and unacknowledged in the grief and guilt suicide induces. It is not the media's responsibility to act as the coroner but to act as the public educator in acknowledging what remains deeply buried. * On sensational coverage of suicide: 'Man hangs himself, the day before his divorce case' may sell papers but it could hang a few more of such men. A more sedate headline and a more sedate discussion of the mental state of the man on the day before divorce case, may educate more people and save a few deaths. . Reporting "how-to" descriptions of suicide Every time, pesticide is mentioned in the suicide rate, thousands of would be suiciders learn that if suicides were to be committed, pesticide would be the method. In Sri Lanka, suicide by all methods have remained the same since 1950, and all the increase of suicides is due to pesticides and oleander. * Glorifying suicide or the person who committed suicide * Use of some terms Research has shown that the use of term 'suicide' in headlines increases suicide rates. Refer to the death as 'death by suicide' rather than successful suicide. Media can help prevent suicide * Increase Public Awareness Provide the readership or the audience with factual information about risk factors, warning signs and possible actions. Instead of saying "High drama at Kalutara Bridge as the bus conductor jumps to the river", research the background of this young man who jumped into the river, his mental state that morning and what could have been prevented to prevent his death. 90% of suiciders either suffer from depression or abuse alcohol and other drugs. List the available community support systems for suicidal persons, and ask if this young man received treatment for his mental state. That is responsible journalism with a win win solution. * Debunk myths Myths exist such as those who talk about suicide do not commit suicide; particular categories who face problems is a suicide risk, as in the case of farmers in debt; suicide of bad person is good for society. * Make use of these news items to examine and debunk these myths. * Give equal publicity to people who have made it through equally dire crisis. *Finally suicide is the only disorder that cannot be treated. But those who are suicidal can be helped. Psychiatrists and counsellors exist for that purpose. Courtesy:'Media and Health ' published by the Sri Lanka Medical Association in connection with an award for excellence in medical journalism by the SCMA. ######## Health, human rights and media by EUGENE COREA Human Rights and Health are linked in many ways. Violations or lack of attention to Human Rights can have harmful even fatal, effects on people. Torture, slavery, violence against children and women, harmful traditional practices and discrimination against ethnic groups or disabled people are examples of this. Vulnerability to and the impact of ill health can be reduced by safeguarding Human Rights. The right to health, right to education right to food and nutrition, freedom from discrimination are examples of human rights which when respected would reduce the effects of ill health and disease on people. Another aspect would be the manner in which health development could lead to both promotion and violation of human rights. Right to privacy, right to information, freedom from discrimination and the right to participation are some rights which are thus affected. The need to inform health authorities (notify) about certain infectious diseases (eg Cholera Hepatitis, HIV/AIDS) affecting an individual, violates that individuals right to privacy / confidentiality. The restriction of movement (quarantine) of people during epidemics or outbreaks of disease restricts freedom of movement of individuals. Both these measures however need to be taken to protect the community from harm. The guidelines for interference with human rights in order to achieve a public health goal have been worked out, and are contained in the Siracusa Principles. The committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, of the UN which monitors the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (1966) has issued a General Comment on the right to health, General Comments help to guide states (which have ratified convenants, treaties etc) in carrying out their obligations to people and in safeguarding individual rights. This comment recognizes the dependence of the right to health on the fulfilment of many other rights. It also recognizes the importance of determinants like access to safe potable water, adequate sanitation, adequate supply of safe food, nutrition and housing, healthy occupational and environmental conditions and access to health related education and information (including social and reproductive health) in safeguarding the right to health. Clearly media professionals need to consider all these aspects when matters relating to health and human rights are dealt with by them. Violation of privacy / confidentiality of people and patients in reporting and their consequences on the lives of people must always be an area of concern. Vested interests (financial, political and special interests groups) which seek to manipulate the media should not be permitted to harm the health of the people. It is certainly up to the journalistic profession to work out how it fulfils society's expectation that the media will act in a manner that will not adversely affect health and human rights. In fact the profession could do more by promoting health and safeguarding human rights. Courtesy: 'Media and Health' SLMA ######## Filling gaps in health sector Dr. Lucian Jayasuriya, former President of the Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) delivered the E. M. Wijerama Endowment Lecture at the inaugural of the annual sessions of the SLMA, held at the Lionel Memorial Auditorium. In a hard hitting speech 'Towards a Better managed health service', he exposed several gaps in the current health sector fox and how they could be filled. Following is a summary of his recommendations: * Doctors give the lead in refraining from strikes. * The government to take urgent action to establish arbitration in the government health sector. * The Arbitration Board be a permanent salary review committee for the health sector. * The Sri Lanka Medical Council to give guidelines on strikes by health sector personnel. * The government bans strikes in the health sector. * Supervision of the work of health institutions be strengthened. * Severe punishment to be given to persons doing private practice during working hours. * Duties of staff in the health service be revised and written agreement obtained from the employees. * Ministry to delegate powers of management to teaching and provincial hospitals Boards of Management with statutory powers be established to manage them. * The health service receive enhanced funding from the government. The provincial health service receive their rightful share of funds. * All hospitals except special hospitals to be handed over to the provincial councils. * A medical management service be established. * An Institute of Hospital Management be established. * A compulsory referral system should not be implemented at present. Referral should be encouraged by incentives. * Investigations and drugs available in all OPDs be the same. * A health record for each person. * A comprehensive system of drug stores be established in all government medical institutions. * The government should not expand undergraduate medical education * Training of nurses, pharmacists and professions supplementary to medicine be expanded and handed over to the universities. * Review the intake of doctors to the government health sector. * Review feasibility of a government funded general practitioner service. * Establish a National Health Commission. * The Private Medical Institutions Act be enacted. * Strengthen the stewardship role of the Ministry of Health. * A Medicinal Drug Regulatory Authority be established. ######## Facts about the HIV/AIDS pandemic How is HIV passed from person to person? HIV is found in body fluids such as blood, semen, vaginal, fluids and breast milk. It can be passed from one person to another - or transmitted - only in very specific ways. These are: through unprotected sexual intercourse between a man and a woman or between two men; through infected blood - for example through contaminated blood transfusions or unsterilised needles and syringes. (In most places today blood transfusions are completely safe because the blood is tested for HIV before it is used to treat patients) and from an infected mother to her baby while it is still in the womb or during childbirth or breastfeeding. HIV does not spread through 'casual' everyday contact between people.It is not transmitted by coughing, or sneezing, or by touching or hugging someone who has the virus. It is not spread in air, water or in food, or by sharing cups, bowls, cutlery, clothing or toilet seats. And HIV is not transmitted by biting insects such as mosquitoes, because the quantity of blood on their mouthparts is too minute. Source: BBC Courtesy Red Cross Red Crescent ######## Chicken and Eggs - a health risk? This is what Dr. D. Barnard MD the President of the Physicians Committee on Responsible Medicine Washington DC has to say. "Many people turn to chicken (as well as turkey and fish) to pursue better nutrition. Chicken may look harmless dressed up in the drive-thru special of the week, but zesty new sauces and fancy marketing campaigns cannot disguise its shortcomings. Chicken may be lighter in colour than beef, but your body can hardly tell the difference. Chicken, like other animal products, contains hefty doses of cholesterol, fat, and animal protein. It leaves your body wanting for fibre, vitamin C, and complex carbohydrates. "Oftentimes, the heaviness of a meat-centred meal leaves little room for what your body really craves - richly varied plant foods. Each bite of chicken, beef or fish displaces vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes, the real dynamos that boost your metabolism and immune system. Like four ounces of beef, four ounces of chicken - roughly the size of a card deck - contain about 100 milligrams of cholesterol, while the ideal daily intake is zero. (Animal products always have cholesterol. Plant foods never do). Whereas 3.5 ounces of broiled lean flank steak derives 56 per cent of its calories from fat, the comparable figure for chicken is 51 per cent (even skinless 'white meat' is 23 per cent fat.) "Furthermore, one-third of chicken packages in supermarket coolers have live salmonella bacteria growing inside the plastic. Salmonella poisoning kills about 9,000 Americans annually, with millions more non-fatally afflicted by such symptoms as vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and fever. campylobacter - infects as many as two thirds of all prepacked chicken. "And chicken's problems cannot be cooked away. When heated, chicken produces dangerous heterocyclic amines (HCAs) as creatine, amino acids, and sugar in chicken muscles interact. HCAs, the same carcinogens found in tobacco smoke, are 15 times more concentrated in grilled chicken than beef. The fat, animal protein and carcinogens in cooked chicken creates risks for colon cancer. What's more, poultry, like all meat, lacks any fibre to help cleanse the digestive tract of excess hormones and cholesterol." Eggs are described as virtual Cholesterol Bombs by informed persons, containing more than 200 milligrams of cholesterol each. Moreover, each egg contains about 13.6 per cent protein and 13.3 per cent saturated fat. Any dhal is better with 24 per cent protein and only 1.3 per cent-unsaturated fat per 100 grams. Eggs are often contaminated with bacteria, especially salmonella (one of the leading causes of food poisoning) and worms and also contribute to heart disease and other serious health problems. For a cardiac reversal diet, according to Dr. Dean Ornish MD of the University of California at San Francisco and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn MD of the world renowned Cleveland Clinic, the upward limit on total fat should be about 10 per cent of calories or for a 2000 kcal diet a total of about 22 grams of fat. Sent by Olcott Gunasekera, Dharmavijaya Centre for Promotion of Healthy Living. |
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When the media gave publicity to young men and women committing suicide
in an underground railway bridge, the number of suicides increased there.
Recently a German television station aired the series, 'Death of a
Student,' depicting the railway suicide of a young man.
